Storms in Aincrad
by Insanity Rush
Summary: The story and adventure of the player Arashi and his quest to return to the real world.


Chapter 1: The First Day

Date: 2022/11/06

_ "It was hell getting to the electronics store and back home again. Still, despite fighting crowds, I somehow managed to get away with one of the physical copies of Sword Art Online. Heh, I can't tell you how many fights broke out over whom would get one, in some cases it was rather amusing. You couldn't blame them though, what with all of the promotion this game was getting, "The biggest VRMMORPG to date" created by the inventor of the NerveGear no less. I had played an MMORPG or two in the past, they were fun, until time for me became so slim, I rarely had time to play anymore. Friends at work ranted and raved about this game and had wanted me to join up with them, so after some months of careful budgeting, I had managed to get the hardware, and now, I have the game itself. This will be my first full dive; I'm both excited and anxious about this. I'll let you know how it all turns out in my next entry."_

As the young man had finished writing the last few words, he immediately set down his journal upon the desk. Making sure that everything was connected to his PC; he grabbed the head piece of the NerveGear and carefully slid it onto his head. Luckily for him, his roommates were out and wouldn't be back until early evening, thus giving him plenty of quiet time to play around. Hopefully, he'd be logged out later to join them for dinner. Having verse himself briefly over the use of the NerveGear and the game, he gave a smirk, laying himself upon his bed, getting comfortable.

"Link start!" he commanded, as the PC began to boot the program, bringing his consciousness into the virtual world.

Linking…

Downloading…

Touch… OK  
Sight… OK  
Hearing… OK  
Taste… OK  
Smell... OK

Link... OK!

Language English

Username: ***********  
Password: ******

Character Registration:  
Arashi (M)  
Create this character? Y

Welcome to Sword Art Online!

It wouldn't be long before Arashi's senses kicked in, here he was, fully immersed in the world of Aincrad, he wasn't the first either, thousands of players had begun appearing, all anxious to try out this game. The young man smirked; brushing his long parted dirty blonde hair back a little.

"I can't believe it…" he said to himself, "…I'm here!"

Arashi looked all around him, completely amazed at the town before him.

-Floor 1: Town of Beginnings-

The square was bustling with excitement, everywhere he looked, there were players were chatting, forming parties, gathering necessary equipment and supplies or just exploring the starting city. Arashi began to make his way into the markets, knowing that the first thing he needed was a suitable starting weapon. It wouldn't be long before he had obtained a short curved sword, with weapon in tow; he scanned the city, seeming to be looking for something else, as he made his way through the crowds. Suddenly, a voice addressing him broke his train of thought.

"Hey there, you in the blue!"

Arashi scanned the area for the source of the voice, eventually his eyes locked upon a long, green haired young man, wearing the exact same padded armor that he wore, he was another player.

"Me?" he asked.

"Yeah you! Come over here for a second!" the player called again, waving him over, grinning all the while.

Not wanting to be rude, Arashi proceeded over toward the player that addressed him, though he wanted to be wary, just in case it was one of those games.

"Hey man, you look a little lost." Said the player, "You're new here aren't you?"

Arashi blinked, confused but nonetheless, the player was dead on.

"Uh, yeah." He answered with a nod.

The player seemed to sense Arashi's uneasiness, becoming concerned he may have come on a bit too strong, his expression changed to something a bit more welcoming.

"Don't look so nervous, name's Felix." The player said, "Since I was a beta tester, I came here to help the newer players." He reached out his hand to shake Arashi's

"Arashi." He replied, shaking Felix's hand.

Felix smiled.

"Didn't mean to startle you, sorry about that." He nervously chuckled.

"Oh no, don't worry, I just…" replied Arashi, shaking his head quickly, "…just thought that you might be…"

Felix looked at Arashi, a bit puzzled as to his meaning. Once he had realized, he laughed.

"Oh, I take it you've had problems with player killers before?" he wondered, patting Arashi on the shoulder, "Man, I'm nothing like that, dishonorable lot, player killers." He started to walk a little, Arashi following, "Although, I do understand your wariness, I was new once."

Arashi felt a bit embarrassed and proceeded to apologize.

"I apologize, I never meant to assume anything, just wanting to be careful ya know?" he replied.

Felix nodded and chuckled, patting Arashi's shoulder once more, and then walked toward the town gates with him.

"No need, c'mon, let's go to the field, I'll teach you some basics." He said, "Assuming that, your sword isn't just for show and all."

Arashi, not seeing much choice in the matter, followed the player's lead, not that the help wasn't welcome, and who knows, he may teach Felix something himself.

-Field of Beginnings-

Outside the town, lay the seemingly endless, lush grasslands, small streams and lakes as far as the eye could see. It was truly a sight to behold, even for a virtual environment, quite detailed, down to the dewdrops that dripped gently from the leaves and flowers. Arashi and Felix stood upon the dirt road leading from the town itself. Giving a smile, Felix looked over at his new student and began:

"Let's begin with something simple." He said, "The first thing you need to do is get used to moving. I assume this is your first full dive, so you'll need to learn how you can move in this world. This will be helpful in any situation, whether in combat or not." Felix turned his gaze to the road ahead, "Keep up with me if you can!"

With a quick step, Felix began to sprint into the distance, seeming to follow the road before them. Arashi, jumped back a little, surprised and staggered. He watched for a few moments, then picking up on Felix's meaning, bolted forward. It would be a few moments before he would finally catch up to his mentor, and even when he did, Felix changed direction going off the road and into the grasslands. No matter how much the direction changed or what obstacles got in the way, Arashi kept pace with Felix, over rocks, stumps and streams. This continued for a few moments until Felix stopped, staring at the boar that had spawned just in the way, Arashi had stopped just at his side, panting heavily.

"You alright?" Felix asked, looking down at Arashi, "You don't need to breath you know?" he chuckled, and then returned his attention to the boar ahead of them, who was peacefully grazing.

Arashi felt a bit embarrassed as he realized this.

"Oh… yeah…" he panted, and then he looked over at the boar.

Felix grinned, picking up a small pebble from the ground, tossing it in the air a few times before speaking again.

"I hope you're ready to work on that sword-arm." He said, gesturing for Arashi to ready his sword, which he did promptly, "Remember, movement is the key, but be sure to watch your enemy's moves as well."

With a flick of the wrist, the pebble shot forth from Felix's hand, striking the beast in the snout, causing it to cry out, and then look in the direction of the projectile, its sights focused on Felix. The boar charged forth and Felix took a step to the side, leaving Arashi exposed to the boar's head-butt, getting some tusks in his torso as well. Arashi was knocked back onto his rear, wincing as he did, his HP meter dropping just slightly.

"ARGH!" shouted Arashi as he was struck, he slowly struggled to his feet, "Damn it!"

"You don't need to breathe here; you also can't feel any pain! C'mon get it together!" shouted Felix, "Get a hit on it at least, and I'll teach you something else."

It took a moment for Arashi to recover but he soon assumed a combative stance, sword held to one side.

"You can also attack while moving you know, this isn't your ordinary MMO." Said Felix "Now, try it again, it's coming!"

Sure enough, the boar was preparing to charge, taking off from its current position. Arashi adopted a new stance, timing it just right and sidestepping its attack, turning on the ball of his foot and landing a hit on the creature's flank. Felix smiled as the hit landed, evidenced by the cut, he then looked at Arashi.

"Got a hold of that quickly did ya? Alright! Let's see you use a skill." He began, "Your sword has a similar skill to mine, remember, make your first move count, activate it at the right time, then follow through!"

Glancing to his mentor for a moment, Arashi, then, returned his gaze to his target, seeing it start to charge once again. He focused, feeling the sword skill begin to activate, indicated by the pale blue glow of the blade.

'I feel it!' he thought to himself, smirking allowing his arm to thrust forth, driving the blow through with his body, piercing through the boar, now defeated, bursting into a shower of pixels which quickly dissipated.

Felix grinned, beaming with pride.

"Well done, you've picked this up quicker than I expected you to." He said walking up to join Arashi; just as a result screen appeared next to him.

Result

Exp.

31

Col

24

Items

2

Arashi sheathed his blade just as Felix joined him and spoke up.

"Well done, you sure you're a newbie? You play like you've played this for years."

"I swear." Arashi replied, chuckling, "What a rush."

"We can keep going if you'd like, I'll teach you a few more things." said Felix who began to draw his own sword "With practice, you could become a skilled player."

Arashi nodded, eager to learn, he drew his own sword once again, preparing himself for whatever lessons Felix was ready to teach him.

_"For the next couple of hours, Felix and I did some more hunting, it didn't seem like very long but before we both knew it, hours had passed by. It didn't really matter to me, as I was immersed in this whole experience, as he taught me a few more skills, telling me just how many were possible to learn. In duels, he taught me how to parry, saying it would definitely come in handy for me. We had headed back to town to pick up supplies, check out some possible upgrades to my equipment. As I was looking for a journal, since it's kind of a habit I have, something unexpected happened… a forced teleport. Not just me and Felix, but just about every player that was in the game. Felix was confident that this was more than likely just an opening event for the game, that is, until we saw a rather strange announcer quite literally bleed out of nowhere. I saw his face grow pale as the creator of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, Akihiko Kayaba, explained that there was no way to logout of the game, and the only way any of us would be free, is if we beat this game. I couldn't believe what he was saying, I mean, why would the creator of an MMO hold so many people hostage? Oh… and removing the NerveGear would be useless as well and if anyone tried to, our brains would be fried. I began to feel afraid myself, my roommates were probably home by now and wondering just what the hell was going on, I hoped that they had seen the news of all of the deaths so far. To make matters worse, the mirror he gave us… it revealed my face in the real world. What the hell is going on? Not just me, but everyone else online had their real world faces revealed, where the face of their avatars should be. Panic quickly set in among the players as they all scattered to get out, when the announcement was over, Felix grabbed me and we headed for the town gates. At this point, there was only one thing on my mind: escape."_

Felix had led Arashi just outside of the town gates, looking quite horrified as he ran with him.

"Listen up, we've got to hurry and get ourselves to the next town." Said Felix, "And we gotta be quick about it, because I'm sure we're not the first to have this idea."

Arashi nodded in agreement, still finding all of what just transpired hard to believe.

"Okay, but, shouldn't we at least get ourselves leveled up?" he asked, "I mean, we'll need to be strong in order to clear this game?"

"More than likely others will be thinking the same thing." Replied Felix, "If we continue to the next town, at least we'll be able to get some experience and money along the way." Felix turned to look at him, his face resembling someone around his own age, looking back at him, "I understand if you don't wish to go with me."

Arashi shook his head and smirked.

"No way, you've taught me so much already." He replied, "It'd be a crime not to pay you back for all you've done for me, this isn't my first MMO after all."

"You don't have to pay me back for anything, like I said; I was here to help the newer players. By the way…" he paused, reaching into his bag and pulling out a couple of books, and handing them to Arashi, "You wanted one right?"

Arashi accepted the books, one of them, a tan leather-bound journal, the other, appearing to be a guide book. He found it hard not to smile, despite all that was going through his mind at the moment, putting the books into his inventory, then looking at Felix.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"You seem like the type to keep one, besides, you'll never know when you'll need to make some notes." Replied Felix.

"Or a map." The two both laughed.

"If what that guy said was true, you'll need every resource you can get." Said Felix looking out into the distance at what appeared to be a tower, "Truth be told, I've only ever made it to the third floor. So who knows what awaits us ahead."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, you taught me a lot and if we work together, we should be able to clear this in a few hours." said Arashi.

With a nod, Felix and Arashi began to head down the road, unaware of what awaited the two.

_"We traveled for what seemed like hours, when suddenly, Felix spotted a couple of players in over their head, against a couple of mid-level monsters for this floor. Just as we drew our swords, Felix looked at me, telling me to run and that he would meet me later, but I didn't want to leave him. Promising to catch up once he helped these players and telling me not to worry, he headed off. I was reluctant to leave him behind, but eventually I made it to the next town. I waited, a day or two, hoping he was just lagging behind and trying to scare me. Days turned to weeks, I had spent time hunting, getting my level up, and saving to get myself a better sword. One day, while I was out hunting, I had come across a huge monolithic rock; it seemed to have the names of every player within the game. My expression turned to one of horror when I inspected it more closely; several of the names were crossed out, with dates and times underneath them. One in particular caught my eye, it was Felix… dated 2022/11/06 at 20:08:15, I couldn't believe my eyes… he had fallen and so early into the game. I managed to return back to Tolbana, where I had stayed for some time… afraid for my life… it was then I realized the depth of my situation…  
…I was alone…"_

_-To be continued-_


End file.
